Hellers+Humanistic+Values

Heller’s Humanistic Values Catch-22 is a satire about World War II written by Joseph Heller. Heller constructed this comedy novel about what people do when they face the daily possibility of death. Heller shows how the bombardiers will do what ever they can to survive as a reason why the morals and values are taken away from the characters. Heller's tragicomic vision of modern life, found in Catch-22, focused on the wearing away of humanistic values. Heller shows that the bombardiers would do anything as long as they will survive causing the diminishment of their principles. “For the most part what they do is try to survive in any way they can.” (Young, 1993). Robert Young shows how surviving would lead a human being to do anything. Heller emphasizes in __Catch-22__ that in the face of death human beings would become selfish and greedy. This is shown in the novel when Milo tries to convince Yossarian about his new innovative idea of the “chocolate covered cotton”. Milo had tasted the candy himself and it made him sick. Yet he still attempts to construct this product because he cannot sell it any other way. Milo was thinking of his interest rather than thinking about all the people that would become sick due to the chocolate cotton (Heller, 1961). Along with the survival instincts the characters emotions also play a big part in their moral diminishment. Heller illustrates that emotions of anger and annoyance will also cause moral reduction. “Scholars are convinced that Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 leads to such a vision of human responsibility issuing from indignation” (Cacicedo, 2005). Alberto Cacicedo is persuaded that humans do what they must as a result of anger or annoyance. This is proven in the novel when Yossarian breaks Nately’s nose due to the annoyance of the machine-gun prank (Heller, 1961). Another instance when anger leads to actions is when Dobbs offers to kill Colonel Cathcart. The bombardiers were tired of the colonel raising the number of missions, so they decided that they would kill him. There actions are a response to there anger. The anger again deteriorates the values and morals of the bombardiers (Heller, 1961). Heller describes the body as garbage; the way people treat garbage is like garbage hence losing the humanistic values. “The critics may perceive the Snowden incident as definitive of the novel’s frighteningly naturalistic vision of human morality” (Doloff, 2007). Steven Doloff refers to the scene where Yossarian discovers Snowden’s secret. Where all men are just matter, without there spirits they are garbage (Heller, 1961). This is a key point in the novel as Heller emphasizes that all men are nothing. The soul or the spirit is what has all the feeling. No matter what a person does to a man burn them, bury them, or drop them without the spirit there is no significance. Heller shows Snowden’s secret which gives reason to believe that actions that are not humanistic will not bother another human being because there soul is not being “burned, buried, or dropped” (Heller, 1961). Therefore with this secret humanistic values are not necessary in the real world, because without the soul the body is just “garbage” (Heller, 1961). And therefore if the soul is not being affected the only thing that is left to be affected is the “garbage” (Heller, 1961). Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 is a satire that shows how morality deteriorates in modern life. The humanistic values of beings deteriorate because when facing death, human beings will do anything to survive. Another reason for the corrosion of morals is because of the anger and annoyance. The final explanation for the descent of principles is the fact that bodies are nothing. The spirit is what matters, everything else is just matter. Joseph Heller shows how human beings at war will react when staring at death in its eyes. Countless critics believe that the morals of human beings will become selfish when they face danger. Critics conclude the self interest is the resulting factor.